Marielle Smith (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I also rise to speak on this motion. What is becoming increasingly clear in this chamber, and in the other place, is that there is no issue too big or too small for Mr Dutton and his opposition to politicise. If you read out the words of this motion before us, it reads like a shopping list of things the opposition has sought to politicise: conflict in the Middle East and border security. These are pretty transparent attempts to seek political advantage using the same old playbook of Liberal parties past.

We can all remember the impact of the politicisation of these issues by previous governments. Indeed, I reckon some people in this place were probably motivated to run for parliament because of the impact of the politicisation of some of these issues under previous governments—and under the Howard government. We can all remember the impact of those on our national cohesion and the impact of those decisions on the sense of safety and security that members of our community felt. Just as it was true then, it is true now: talking tough on national security doesn't actually make our nation more secure. Stoking fear and division does not make us stronger—in fact, it can make us weaker. Hacking at the seams of social cohesion is a dangerous business because the way we talk about national security matters and the way we talk about national security can determine our nation's security. That's a sentiment that not just I hold. I am sure that is a sentiment that would be backed in by national security experts and backed in by those working in this space every day.

We have a choice in how we talk about these matters. We have a clear choice about where we draw the line between policy debate and politicisation. The first should absolutely be rigorous, but there needs to be caution in the use of the other. Of course it is not just how we talk about things; it's what we say—it's adherence to facts. Facts matter too. I implore all in this place and the other place if they're not going to strip the fearmongering from their rhetoric to at least make sure that their rhetoric is based and underlined in truth, because we have seen examples of jumping the gun in the press and elsewhere and weighing in on events without having the facts.

The opposition leader is attempting to steer our country down a path using a playbook that we have seen before. He's doing so without any degree of self-reflection on his own legacy: a legacy characterised by a broken migration system—they're not my words; they're the words of the independent comprehensive review—a legacy that talked tough on borders whilst cutting compliance officers at the same time and, indeed, what we're dealing with now in this chamber and the other chamber.

The opposition leader isn't prepared to engage in this legacy. Indeed, all he wants to do is play politics on the issues he can grab. If he's not saying no to everything and not opposing everything we as a government put up, he's seeking a political advantage, no matter the cost. There's division, fear and inflaming tensions when what our country needs is clear and calm leadership. These are political plays we have seen before. It is the playbook from the Liberal Party's past.

Our government is working hard every day to make Australians more secure. We welcome a rigorous policy debate on these issues. They're important and they matter to the security of Australians, but the rigour in that policy debate must actually be accompanied by caution in the political discourse that surrounds it because how we talk about these issues matters and how we talk about our national security has the potential to impact and determine our national security. It does so through its impact on social cohesion and it does so through its impact on communities within Australia, especially communities at the moment who are feeling a lot of hurt and a lot of pain. I am sure some are feeling that the political discourse is not doing anything to improve our social cohesion. If we don't have social cohesion, we don't have a secure nation. How we talk about it matters.